- Cheri RussoCommunications and Marketing Manager
Lancaster – Ohio University Lancaster | Pickerington is launching a new marketing campaign this month with a new slogan, "Imagine Your Possibilities." The idea behind the campaign is that the Lancaster Campus and Pickerington Center are places where students can imagine endless possibilities which can help them transform their lives and transform the communities where they live. Billboards are now going up and marketing materials are being distributed with the new brand messaging.

The face that appears on those marketing materials belongs to Jeani Allen of Lancaster. At the age of 40, the stay-at-home mom went to college to get a degree in Computer Science Technology after getting a divorce. She transformed her own life by getting a job as a computer technician at Lancaster City Schools and now she's transforming her community by leading a program at Lancaster High School that is preparing students for the future. Allen is the lead technician in charge of the iPad program at Lancaster High School. Every student at LHS is being given an iPad this school year to use in the classroom.

"I think these kids are going to be more engaged now," said Allen. "I think they're used to technology. So, when they come into school and there's no technology, they're bored. They're just bored kids. You give them pencils and they doodle. You give them an iPad or any type of technology and they're involved."

Allen said she's excited to lead this program at LHS and she knows she's doing work that is helping educate students in the town she calls home. Allen grew up in Lancaster and raised her son there as well. Allen said she was honored when her boss asked her to lead the iPad program and knows that her time in the classroom at Ohio University Lancaster prepared her for the task.

"It was daunting to plan out the distribution of 1680 iPads to students," said Lancaster City Schools Director of Educational Information and Technology Services Kevin Snyder. "We spent well over a year planning out this whole process and it was obvious to me as we started really getting into the process that I needed to dedicate someone to the process."

Snyder said Allen was perfect for the job. She was someone he knew was prepared well for the task and would do it right.

"Jeani does a great job of thinking things through and she pays attention to detail. What this job really required was somebody who could see the bigger picture but see the day to day things and every little detail had to be worked out."

Allen said she hopes her story will inspire others to go to Ohio University's Lancaster Campus or Pickerington Center to take classes and get a degree because education is the key to getting the job you want and then using it to make an impact on your community.

"When I got my diploma, I cried. It was because I had completed something that brought back a lot of self-esteem for me," said Allen. "Ohio University Lancaster prepared me very well for the things I am doing now."